Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao

Who they are

Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao is the founder of Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume — stepped down as CEO in November 2023 and authored 'Freedom of Money', a book on financial sovereignty.

Person

CZ founded Binance in July 2017 when it was a startup with no track record in a market dominated by older exchanges — within years it became the largest crypto exchange on the planet by volume and user base. Before that, he ran BijieTech, an exchange systems provider he founded in September 2015 with offices in Shanghai and Tokyo, which was later acquired. His earlier career ran through Bloomberg, where he was Head of Tradebook Futures Development, then Fusion Systems as Partner, and Blockchain.com. The through-line is a relentless move toward market infrastructure — from building trading systems at Bloomberg to building the exchange layer itself. He served as CEO of Binance from July 2017 through November 2023, when he stepped down as part of a $4.3 billion settlement with U.S. authorities over AML and sanctions violations. He has 2M+ followers on X and publishes on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/cpzhao — themes include crypto regulation, real-time machine learning in risk monitoring, Binance operations, and long-term relationship building; he also authored the book 'Freedom of Money'. Possibly — based in Singapore, though his global regulatory exposure has made jurisdictional anchoring fluid.

Company

The freshest signal from Binance is a July 2026 announcement that its AI-driven fraud detection and security improvements prevented $10.53 billion in potential user losses, framing the exchange as a trust-and-safety operator, not just a trading venue. In June 2026, Binance launched stock and ETF trading — access to over 7,000 U.S. stocks and ETFs — moving explicitly beyond digital assets toward a financial super app model, and in May 2026 it launched SpaceX pre-IPO perpetual futures, giving retail traders synthetic exposure to private companies before public listings. In January 2026, Binance received full regulatory approval from Abu Dhabi Global Market's Financial Services Regulatory Authority, one of 21+ jurisdictions where it has secured approvals, though it withdrew EU license applications in Greece in June 2026 and continues to navigate MiCA compliance. Leadership changed in December 2025, when Yi He was appointed co-CEO; CZ, meanwhile, has remained engaged in strategic recovery and regulatory cooperation, including engagement with the U.S. Treasury. In March 2025, Binance raised $2 billion in a Series C round — its largest to date — bringing total funding to $2.02 billion across 5 rounds.

Market

Binance holds approximately 36.5% global market share in crypto trading volume as of Q1 2025, with $8.39 trillion in total trading volume that quarter, and captured 39.8% of global spot trading volume in July 2025 — nearly double the combined share of its top five competitors. Main rivals are Coinbase, Bybit, Bitget, OKX, and Kraken; Coinbase holds 65% of the U.S. market and has benefited from Binance's regulatory retreat from that territory. The broader industry is consolidating fast: regulatory alignment is now table stakes, and Binance's compliance push is forcing competitors to pursue their own partnerships and M&A to keep pace.

Network

Yi He· Co-CEO, Binance (appointed December 2025)
Stephen Gregory· CEO, Binance.US (appointed March 2026)

How they likely show up

Founded Binance in 2017 and served as CEO for over six years through hypergrowth and regulatory crisis → thinks in company-defining arcs, not short cycles.
Built BijieTech before Binance — a B2B exchange infrastructure company — before pivoting to running the exchange itself → pattern of building the pick-and-shovel layer first, then moving up the stack.
Long tenure shape at Binance (2017 onward) combined with founder role → decisions likely feel visceral and ownership-driven; expects the same from people around him.
Active on LinkedIn and Twitter with 2M+ followers, writing on ML in risk systems, regulation, and operations → comfortable being publicly visible on technical and strategic topics; engages with specifics, not generalities.
Authored a book ('Freedom of Money') alongside running one of the world's largest exchanges → high bandwidth operator who communicates conviction through long-form, not just posts.
Navigated a $4.3 billion DOJ settlement and stepped down from CEO while remaining strategically engaged → likely has a high tolerance for adversity and regulatory complexity; frames setbacks as recoverable.

Conversation tips

→ Lead with something specific from his LinkedIn or 'Freedom of Money' — he writes publicly about ML in risk monitoring and financial sovereignty, and will notice if you've actually read it.
→ Ask about the infrastructure layer: he built BijieTech before Binance, suggesting he thinks about exchange architecture from first principles — that's a richer entry point than asking about market share.
→ Don't shy away from the regulatory story — he's engaged with U.S. Treasury directly and Binance's compliance push is now a competitive moat, not just a liability.
→ Reference the financial super app trajectory — stock/ETF trading in June 2026, pre-IPO perps in May 2026 — he's executing a specific vision and will engage if you've tracked it.
→ Be direct and specific: his public writing is practical and technical, not abstract — he responds to people who've done the work.

Toolbox

Openers

Open on the SpaceX pre-IPO perpetual futures launch in May 2026 — Binance giving retail traders synthetic exposure to private companies before public listings is a specific, pointed bet on what a crypto exchange should become, and it signals where CZ sees the product going.
Reference 'Freedom of Money' — he wrote a book on financial sovereignty while running the world's largest exchange; it's a concrete artifact that reveals his worldview and most people walking into a meeting won't have read it.
Mention the January 2026 Abu Dhabi FSRA full regulatory approval — one of 21+ jurisdictions secured — as the first move: it shows you're tracking Binance's compliance arc, which is the central strategic story of the last two years.

Discovery questions

Building BijieTech as exchange infrastructure before founding Binance — how much did operating on the B2B side inform what you built differently when you ran the exchange yourself?
Binance launched gold/silver perps, then SpaceX pre-IPO perps, then stock and ETF trading in 2026 — what's the product theory that ties those moves together, and where does the financial super app vision actually stop?
The AI-driven fraud detection blocking $10.53 billion in potential losses — how much of the compliance and trust-and-safety infrastructure at Binance today was built reactively versus by design from early on?

Avoid

Don't treat the November 2023 CEO departure or DOJ settlement as a taboo topic to avoid — he's publicly engaged in regulatory cooperation since then and framing it as something to tiptoe around will signal you haven't followed the story.

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